


Let's Keep Moving

by InSearchOfSpace



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Apocalyptic AU, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Humanstuck, Post-Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-12 18:14:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15345651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InSearchOfSpace/pseuds/InSearchOfSpace
Summary: Karkat and Nepeta survive together and rely on each other while living in the aftermath of an apocalyptic event that happened hundreds of years prior. While in the middle of a long and arduous journey, they decide to take a break and sit by a warm fire.





	Let's Keep Moving

Nepeta smiled wide as she marched uphill, one hand firmly gripping one of her backpack's straps, the other holding tightly onto a machete. Her travelling companion was huffing up the hill behind her, having a much harder time dealing with travelling all this distance than she was. Being that Nepeta was the more athletic of the two, this was to be expected. "This looks like a good spot!" She called out to him after reaching the top. It took a further 5 seconds for Karkat to reach her as she waited, placing her hands on her hips over her shorts. Karkat looked around, his backpack straps starting to dig into his shoulders, weighing down on him. The assault rifle slung across his back wasn't helping with the weight all that much either. Nepeta much preferred to deal with her problems up close and personal, hence the machete. On the other hand, Karkat liked his battles to be ideally at a distance, and over as soon as possible. Luckily for them, Nepeta usually loved to run ahead and solve all their problems before Karkat could even get a chance to aim, which was good for ammo conservation!

 

"A good spot for what? Basking in the fucking sunset?" He asked, looking around at the dead, lifeless ground beneath them, devoid of any vibrant colour. The Earth was dead. Most everything on it was dying too, but there were a hopeful few that clung to life, trying to survive as hard as they could. Karkat and Nepeta were two of those people. Survivors. They were an odd duo, but a force to be reckoned with for sure. "Taking a break! The sun's starting to go down, and I bet that you don't wanna travel in the dark any more than I do. We should set up camp!" She smiled, tossing her machete up into the air, and watching it stab down in the dirt in front of her. Karkat took a few seconds to process what she was saying before shaking his head, walking onward to start walking down the other side of the hill. "No, fuck that. Let's keep moving. Next settlement's about an hour away. We can make it before sundown." He said, dirt crunching beneath his boots before he came to a stop, slowly turning around. He expected that Nepeta wouldn't listen, and sure enough, she was already kneeling down rubbing sticks together to get a fire going. 

 

He walked back, sitting down in front of the fire once it had started, looking over at Nepeta as he took his backpack off. She smiled back at him, though Karkat just focused on opening up his backpack to get some food. She kneeled on the other side of the fire to Karkat, taking off a woodland camouflage jacket that was so baggy the sleeves covered her hands, and laying it behind herself. It was a harsh world they lived in. Nepeta was just happy she found somebody to help shoulder the burden. Karkat was too, but it was harder for him to show it. He did so in his own little different ways. One that Nepeta had caught on to recently was that Karkat spoke much quieter to her than he did to anybody else.

 

They'd been travelling together for about a year, and Karkat was just as cranky as the day they met, fighting over scraps of food in an old abandoned bombed-out store as strangers. It seemed silly now, given how close they'd become. Karkat had come to appreciate her the more they travelled together, whereas Nepeta made it abundantly clear she was fond of his company right from the start. Karkat just didn't show that he cared about people the same way that most everyone else did. It was hard to tell unless you knew him well enough.

 

Nepeta giggled as she watched Karkat hamfistedly try to open up a can of baked beans with a knife, clearly struggling. "Karkitty, you know that tin has one of those little rings that you pull back on to peel the can open, right?" She said, covering her mouth as she quietly laughed. Karkat paused and looked at her, before looking at the lid. Sure enough, she was telling the truth. He was just so hungry that he didn't even notice it in the first place. Being stubborn, he still continued to try and stab the can open. "...I know. I just thought it'd be easier this way." He said, blatantly lying. He knew Nepeta knew he was lying as well. "I can't help that think purrhaps we might benefit from saving our food for the rest of the trip..." She said, watching Karkat take a spoon to the can's innards, now that the pesky tin was open. "What rest of the trip?" Karkat said, chowing down on a big mouthful of cold baked beans, savouring the taste. It was always a treat to get to eat this well. Nepeta helped with hunting where she could, but sometimes you have to fall back on food you find while looting. It's not always as pleasant as baked beans. "You know we're practically fucking there, right? I still think we should have kept moving." He said, despite the fact that there was no way in Hell they were going to have made it to town before sundown. The fire was currently illuminating Karkat's face, and with each minute, their surroundings got darker. "I'd rather sit by a nice cozy fire than risk getting eaten up by mutants, thank mew very much!" She said matter-of-factly, folding her arms as she gave him a smug little smile. He just continued to eat.

 

Karkat wiped the back of his gloved hand against his mouth, offering the can out to Nepeta. "Here. I know you like to do this thing where you refuse to eat fucking anything when we get anywhere even _close_ to having no food left, but the fact is you still need to eat, and I _know_ you haven't eaten since we caught that rabbit yesterday morning." He said, handing her the tin along with the spoon. She smiled, looking down at it. She was hesitant at first, but she was so hungry she just couldn't refuse it. "Thanks, Karkat..." She smiled, scooping some of it out to take a bite. Nepeta always fretted about running out of food and water, to the point where Karkat would have to calm her down and remind her that they'd only gotten through about half of their supplies. It was a fear that constantly loomed over her. Karkat knew that, and hated the way she'd deny herself sustenance just to try and put off scavenging for another day or so, so sometimes it took a little prodding from him before she got the meals and snacks that she needed. They were both strong individuals, in different ways, that came together to make something even stronger. They were like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle - they just fit together. They got along well too, which was rare for Karkat. 

 

"Just don't blame me when you get the rumblies on the way to town tomorrow." She said with a half-smile, finishing off the can and licking the spoon clean before handing it back to Karkat, throwing the can aside. "We can trade some bullets for some food when we get there." He said, resting his arms on his knees as he looked over at her. Nepeta frowned, folding her arms. "Karkat, you can't keep trading out your bullets for stuff! We might need them!" She scolded, her frown turning into a little pout. "Then we'll just search some house for some food later on. It's not like we've ever gone _that_ hungry before, so why would we now?." He said, sounding pretty sure of himself. This seemed to relax Nepeta to some degree, a smile returning to her face as she threw some small sticks into the fire to help keep it going. 

 

"I'm cold." Nepeta declared after a fair amount of silent contemplation, putting her jacket back on. Karkat looked up at her again, in the middle of reading an extremely scruffy, tattered romance novel. He raised his eyebrow in confusion. "Then go to sleep." He suggested, nodding to the bedroll attached to her backpack. She'd be a lot more warm in a sleeping bag. Nepeta shook her head, laying her hand on the ground as she sat on her side, smiling at Karkat. "But I can't go to sleep first! What if there's bandits? Or monsters? There's no way you could defend all our stuff without my help!" She said with a giggle, playfully scooting over to nudge him. Karkat rolled his eyes. "If we got attacked in the night, god forbid, then I'd just shoot them. Contrary to what you might believe, it's possible to kill things without doing fancy fucking gymnastics and shit at the same time." He said, closing the book on a bookmark, putting it to one side. Nepeta seemed to consider this. Actually, she was pretending to consider this, before shaking her head. "Nah. We'd die." She grinned, watching Karkat grow more and more frustrated. "Well fuck, forgive my optimism, Nepeta. I seem to have fucking forgotten that maintaining the slightest sliver of hope that we MIGHT not die pathetically out in the middle of ass-fuck nowhere is taboo now. I'll just commit to wallowing in your ineffable pessimism for the rest of our lives instead, okay?" He said, throwing his arms up dramatically. His little long-winded rants always brightened her mood. She loved seeing him get so worked up.

 

She shook her head and sighed, looking up at the bright, glimmering stars. "Should we go fur a walk? I don't feel like sleeping yet. I wanna be back on my feet!" She said, punching the air to show just how pumped she was to continue being awake. Karkat sighed in response. "Great. Let's walk to town then." He said, reaching for his backpack. Nepeta did the same as she watched him. "No, not to town! I just wanna walk... around, for a bit. We've still got the map, we'll be fine if we get lost! Which we won't, by the way." She said, putting her backpack on as she stood up. Karkat joined her, rising to his feet. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this. Fine, let's go on a walk, in the dark, with absolutely no sense of direction what-so-fucking-ever." He said, grabbing his rifle as he began to walk. Nepeta tucked her machete into her belt as she rushed after him. She smirked, linking arms with him. "Speak for yourself, Karkitty. You're the one who won't be able to find the way back if we split up." She giggled, making her way down the hill, sticking close to Karkat.

 

"I don't deny that." Karkat admitted, looking up at the stars. He'd really be lost without her guidance. He could scrape by surviving by himself, but Nepeta seemed to be an expert on all things survival. He was lucky to have met her.

 

"Mhm. That's what I thought! Now let's keep moving!" Nepeta smiled, glancing up at the moon. Having a travelling companion had introduced so much joy into her life. It brought her to levels of happiness she would have never thought possible in such a bleak, miserable world. She'd really be lost without him.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd been aching to do something post-apocalyptic outside of Fallout, so I just got this image of Karkat and Nepeta surviving together after some apocalyptic event. I'd love to write more, but as of now, I'm pretty sure this is just a one-off.


End file.
